AIR POLLUTION AND CONTROL ENGINEERING

SYLLABUS
SYLLABUS
Why do we need to study about air pollution
control

• Air pollution is now one of the most pressing environmental concerns.

While nine out of the ten most polluted cities in the world lie in India and
Pakistan that leaves no room for complacency amongst other countries;
partly because they too have their own issues and also because we live in a
connected ecosystem
 Structure of atmosphere
• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Ionosphere or
thermosphere
• Exosphere
 Composition of atmosphere
• nitrogen- 78%
• Oxygen- 21%
• Water vapour-4%
• Carbon di oxide-0.37%
• Other gases
 INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION:
The Engineer’s Joint Council on Air Pollution and Its
Control defines air pollution as “the presence in the
outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants,
such as dust, fumes, gas, mist, odour, smoke or
vapour in quantities, of characteristics, and of
duration, such as to be injurious to human, plant,
or property, or which unreasonably interferes with
the comfortable enjoyment of life and property.”
 AIR POLLUTANT
DEFINITION:
“A contaminant that affect human life, plant
life , animal life and property or a contaminant
which interferes with enjoyment of life and
property could be termed as air pollutant”
Main cause of air pollution is Combustion
• During combustion, elements in the fuel get burned in air to
form various air pollutants.

• [Fuel (C, H, S, N, Pb, Hg, ash) [CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, Pb, Hg, +
Air (N2 + O2)] SPM, RSPM, (PM10), VOCs]

SPM- Suspended Particulate Matter

RSPM- Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter
VOCs- volatile organic compounds.
PM10- Particulate Matter of 10 Microns in diameter or smaller 
 General Discussion on causes of air
pollution by natural disaster
• Natural events always have been the direct cause of enormous amounts of air
pollution. Volcanoes, for instance, spew lava onto land and emit particulates and
poisonous gases containing ash, hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) into
the atmosphere. It has been estimated that all air pollution resulting from human
activity does not equal the quantities released during three volcanic eruptions
Ex: ( Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883, Katmai in Alaska in 1912, and Hekla in Iceland in
1947)
• Lightning, another large contributor to atmospheric pollution, activates atmospheric
oxygen (O2 ) to produce ozone (O3 ), a poisonous gas [ozone in the upper
atmosphere, however, acts as a shield against excessive amounts of ultraviolet (UV)
radiation, which can cause human skin cancer]. In addition to the production of ozone,
lightning is the indirect cause of large amounts of combustion-related air pollution as a
result of forest fires.
Ex: The Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture reported that
lightning causes more than half of the over 10,000 forest fires that occur each year.
 TYPES OF AIR POLLUTION

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

Gases( Household Building Mold ozo

products
CO,rad and material and
on, etc chemicals s pollen ne
SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
Units of measurement of Air pollution

• µg/m^3
• Ppm ( Parts per million)
 Scales of air pollution
• Micro scale: covering less than centimeter to
size of house or slightly larger
• Meso scale-Few hectares up to the size of
country
• Macro scale – from regional to continental
scale
 Air quality index(AQI)
• It ranges from 0 to 500 and categorized to 5 ranges

AQI=(pollutant concentration/pollutant goal

concentration) *100
AIR QUALITY AIR QUALITY INDEX RANGE

GOOD 0-50
MODERATE 51-100
UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE 101-150
GROUPS
UNHEALTHY 151-200
VERY UNHEALTHY 201-500
 What causes air pollution?
• Fossil Fuels -sulphur released from the burning
of fossil fuels
• Vehicle Emissions -carbon monoxide and
nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere
• Agriculture -methane and ammonia are both
by-products of farming by the use of
pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers, a heady
cocktail of chemicals
 Contd…
• Manufacturing:  carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and a
soup of other chemicals
• Deforestation: lowers air quality because the fewer
trees there are the less carbon dioxide they can
absorb.
• Mining: devastating impact on the health of those
working in the mines ( Hydrocarbon extraction)
• Indoor Pollution: Household cleaning products, paints
and varnishes release chemicals into the air which
contribute to poor air quality
 Effects of Air Pollution
• Acidification: Acid rain destroys the leaves of plants. When infiltrates it
affects, soils , lakes, streams and harming aquatic life
• Eutrophication: Rain can carry and deposit the Nitrogen in some pollutants
on rivers and soils. This will adversely affect the nutrients in the soil and
water bodies.
• Ground-level ozone: Chemical reactions involving air pollutants create a
poisonous gas ozone (O3) affecting people health, vegetation and animal
life too.
• Particulate matter: inhaling and exposing to particulate matter which can
be very harmful to our health. According to time of exposure
– Short-term effects: irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory
infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia
– Long-term health effects: chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease,
and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys
 Effects of Air Pollution: on Human Health,
Animals and Atmosphere!
At local and regional levels effects:
• Visibility
• intensity of sunshine
• precipitation amount
• acid rain

Its global effects:

• Change in natural climate by rise of temperature, melting of snow
• increase in carbon dioxide
• increase in particulates
• holes in ozone layer
Grouping of Effects of Air pollution
• Effects on human health
• Effects on animals and plants
• Effects on atmosphere
• Other effects
Effects on Human Health
Effects on Human Health
 Effects on Human Health
• Air pollution mainly affects the respiratory system but the disease may take years or even
decades to appear
• Bronchitis, emphysema, asthma and lung cancer are some of the chronic diseases caused due
to exposure to polluted air
• lung cancer is caused mainly due to polluted air because carcinogens
• Sulphur dioxide is the most serious and widespread air pollutant. lower concentration:->
spasms in the smooth muscle of bronchioles . Higher concentration: increased mucus
production
• Sulphur dioxide is also considered to cause cough, shortness of breath, spasm of the larynx
and acute irritation to the membranes of the eyes. It also acts as an allergenic agent. When it
reacts with some compounds, sulphuric acid is formed which may damage lungs.
• Carbon monoxide often affects the oxygen carrying capacity of blood
• Nitric oxide is reported to be a pulmonary irritant and its excess concentration may cause
pulmonary haemorrhage
• Lead emitted from automobile exhausts is a cumulative poison and is dangerous particularly
to children and may cause brain damage
• Particulate pollutants such as asbestos, silica, carbon, beryllium, lead, etc., are capable of
exerting a noxious (fibrotic) local action in the interstitial areas of the lungs
• smog has a killer effect. The death toll by smog varies from few persons to thousands
Effects on health
 Effects on Animals
• The impact of air pollution on animals is more or
less similar to that on man
• Chronic poisoning results from the ingestion of
forage contaminated with atmospheric
pollutants.
• Fluoride is another pollutant, which causes
fluorosis among animals.
• In animals Excessive fluoride leads to Bone
lesions
 Effects on Plants
• Air pollution has caused widespread damage to trees, fruits, vegetables, flowers and in
general, vegetation as a whole
• Leaf damage, slower growth and prone to infections( become less immune to
diseases)
• The total annual cost of plant damage caused by air pollution in USA alone has been
estimated to be in the range of 1 to 2 billion dollars.
• The most dramatic early instances of plant damage were seen in the total destruction
of vegetation by sulphur dioxide in the areas surrounding smelters.
• When the absorption of sulphur dioxide exceeds a particular level, the cells become
inactive and are killed, resulting in tissue collapse and drying of leaves
• Fluorides seem to interfere with the photosynthesis and respiration of plants. The
leaves of apple, apricot, fig, peach and prune are more susceptible to air borne
fluorides
• Smog also causes injury to plants. Similar impact of ozone can be seen in the lesions to
plants. Chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, etc., are also harmful to vegetation.
Effect on Plants
 Effects on Atmosphere
• Effect on ozone layer, greenhouse effect
• Carbon dioxide absorbs heat strongly and the radiative cooling
effect of the earth is thus decreased. carbon dioxide
concentration in the air due to increased combustion of fossil
fuels
• The rising of temperatures and ozone holes are some of the
problems which have attracted the attention of the scientists all
over the world
• The local weather conditions are highly susceptible to air
pollution. Its impact on temperature, humidity, rainfall and clouds
is apparent. The on large urban centres is the result of air
pollution. Due to air pollution, visibility also reduces
 HEAT ISLANDS
• Urban heat island(UHI) is an urban area or
metropolitan area that is significantly warmer
than its surroundings due to human activity
• Surface of moist and permeable become dry
and impermeable and hence warmer than
rural surroundings
 HOW TO REDUCE HEAT LAND EFFECT

• Planting trees and increasing shade around

the home thus providing cooling through
evapotranspiration
• Install green roofs
• Install cool roofs
• Use energy efficient equipments
 Effects on materials
• Air pollution also affects the buildings ,
monuments , out door statues and other
structures
• Chemicals in air will eat away materials like
sandstone, limestone, mortar and different metals
• National center for prevention technology &
training studies the environment effects of
property and works to restore and protect historic
monuments which are expensive
Effects on aesthetic value and visibility

• Several deleterious effects on aesthetics

including visibility reduction, soiling of
materials and destruction of vegetation
• The aesthetic appreciation of art is highly
subjective whereas views of oceans,
mountains, clouds, lake and city scape are
aesthetically pleasing to vast majority of
people
 What Can Be Done About Air Pollution?

PARIS AGREEMENT WHICH WAS AGREED IN DECEMBER 2015.

• Reduce Your Use of Private Vehicles: Where possible travel to your
destination on foot, by bicycle, on public transport or car pool 
• Conserve Energy in the Home: Reduce your use of electricity by
purchasing eco-friendly goods, keeping your thermostat turned down and
insulating your property. Switch to sources of renewable energy where
possible.
• Recycle: Try to buy less from new and recycle household items
• Reduce Food Miles: By purchasing more local food from farmers
• Improve Your Indoor Air Quality: Avoiding harsh cleaning agents;
minimising your use of synthetic air fresheners including plants in your
interior design
 MAJOR INITIATIVES TAKEN FOR AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL IN INDIA (DURING LAST TWO DECADES)
• National ambient air quality standards based on health impact evolved (1982,
1994, 2009).
• Emission standards for air polluting industries developed for major industries
• Implementation of standards in 17 categories of highly polluting industries
and other small/medium scale industries (stone crushers, brick kiln, re-rolling
mills, etc.).
• Action plan implementation and pollution control in identified 24 problem
areas
• Coal beneficiation/clean coal technology –notification regarding use of
beneficiated coal in thermal power plant
• Improvement in vehicular technology (Euro-1, Euro-2, Euro-3, Euro-4, CNG
vehicles, 4 stroke engines, etc.)
• Improvement in fuel quality -diesel with low sulphur content (0.25% in whole
country and 0.05% in metro cities)
• Gasoline-lead phased-out throughout the country since 2000
EMERGING NEW AREAS FOR AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL IN INDIA
• Development of low cost ash removal technology from coal and
promotion of clean coal technologies
• Technology for reduction of fluoride emission (primary &
Secondary) from pot room of aluminum industries using Soderberg
technology
• Development of NOx control standard for thermal power plants
and refineries
• Prevention and control of fugitive emission in cement industry
• Use of high calorific value hazardous waste including petroleum
coke in cement kiln
• Low cost flue gas desulphurization technology for thermal power
plants
• Technology development of fugitive emission control from coke
oven plants of iron & steel industry
 Contd…
• Development of technology and standard to control emission of VOC,
methyl chloride, P2O5, HCl, etc. from pesticide industry
• Development of odour control technology for paper & pulp industry and
standardization the method of odour measurement
• Fluidized bed combustion technology for solid fuel containing higher ash
• Development of improved design of Incinerators for Hazardous Waste.
• Control on emission of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from engine using
LPG, compressed natural gas (CNG), low sulphur diesel, low sulphur
petrol, etc.
• Noise and emission control system for small DG sets (<200KW)
• Development of stack height guidelines for thermal power plants and
industries using ventilation co-efficient of different regions in the country
Ambient air quality and emission standards
Emission standards for existing sources of air pollution are set by each state in
an attempt to reduce ambient air pollution levels to the ambient standards.
The air prevention and control of pollution act 1981 describes main functions
of central pollution control board(CPCB)
• To advise the central government on any matter concerned to improvement of
air quality
• To provide technical assistance and guidance to state pollution control board
• To collect , compile and publish technical and statistical data related to air
pollution
• To carry out sponsor investigation and research related to prevention, control
and abatement of air pollution
• To lay down the annual standard for the quality of air by the mandate provided
by CPCB